


Under A Spell

by camichats



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, Background Clary Fray/Simon Lewis, Episode Fix-it, Established Relationship, Happy Ending, M/M, Parabatai, Spells & Enchantments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-13 04:56:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18025103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: Alec and Jace are together. So why the hell is Jace flirting with Clary and ignoring Alec completely?





	Under A Spell

**Author's Note:**

> Anyways it super sucks that Jace ignores Alec in canon, so have an episode rewrite in Season 1, Episode... 3 I think? Either that or 4 or 5. *shrug* It's pretty early on. 
> 
> (Bold text is dialogue straight from the show)

**"You don't understand friendship, do you?"** Clary said.

Jace had to stop himself from snarling at her. Yes there were differences between the mundane world and the shadowhunter world, but sometimes she acted like _he_ was always the stupid one for not understanding what she was saying. But friends? _Seriously_? What the everliving fuck did she think Izzy was to him? Or Alec for that matter, since he had told her about parabatai only an hour ago. **"Alec would** **_die_ ** **for me."**

**"Well now you understand how it is for me and Simon."**

Jace wanted to scream. He pursed his lips and looked around as if a reason to not get angry would pop out of the sky. **"Sun's going to come up soon,"** was all he said, since apparently this conversation was going nowhere. He knew-- he _knew_ \-- that she didn't understand what Alec was to him, or even what parabatai were to each other, so he couldn't truly blame her, but it was beyond insulting for her to make that comparison. They started making plans for the rescue, but all he could think was that he'd told her that their hearts beat as one, and she went off and said that her friendship with her precious Simon was the exact same. Jace loved Izzy with his entire heart, and exempting Alec because of everything else he meant to him, made her his best friend. He would die for her, would kill for her, would break dozens of Clave rules to make her happy, and that was still miles away from what he had with Alec.

Maybe that was his fault though, that she didn't understand. He told her what it meant to be parabatai-- at least a shortened version of it-- but she hadn't seen him act like it. Alec was right, he hadn't been listening, he'd been helping Clary out in the most direct way possible without thinking about it, and he was continuing to do so. Hell, he accused Alec of not trusting him just because he was feeling defensive about his actions! Now he kind of wanted to punch himself in the face, but that wouldn't do anyone any good. By the angel, what was wrong with him?

He took a deep breath and pushed all of it out of his mind. They were about to walk into a vampire den, and if he didn't have his mind one hundred percent on the mission, he could get them all killed. He set his shoulders and was ready to go. Everything with Alec and Clary? That would wait.

* * *

They made it onto the roof, and Clary confessed her love for Simon right there in front of god and everyone. Well okay it was only the two of them plus Jace, Alec, and Isabelle, but still. Jace would very much have preferred to not be there for it. He felt a roaring jealousy inside him and frowned. Why was he jealous? He glanced at Alec out of the corner of his eye, felt the comfortable warmth of their parabatai rune, and the feeling evaporated. He looked back to the kissing couple, and jealousy burned through his veins like wildfire.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked away. Clary wanted to get it on with the mundie fine-- well not _fine_ , but there was nothing Jace could do to stop it-- but they shouldn't do it in front of everyone like that.

 **"I just want to say one thing** ," Alec said to Jace, stepping forward so they could face each other.

Jace grit his teeth. **"Well you will no matter what I say, so shoot."**

 **"You think you know Clary, and I think you may not.** " Jace scoffed and started to shake his head in disbelief, but Alec kept talking. **"Think about who her father is-"**

 **"** ** _Do not_ ** **start this again with me, Alec,"** Jace warned.

**"She just came out of nowhere Jace an-"**

**"She has no one,"** Jace started, interrupting him.

**"Just listen to me for one second-"**

**"Alec stop!"** Jace screamed, and Clary and Simon broke apart to stare at them. His heart was beating heavily in his chest, and he wanted to keep yelling, to tell Alec all the reasons he was wrong to distrust her, but he wasn't going to do that, not in front of Clary. She'd been through enough recently. **"Just stop,"** he said at a normal volume. **"If you really feel that way about her, why did you help us tonight?"**

Alec gave him a long, searching look. Sort of a 'I can't believe you're asking me that question when you know full-fucking-well what the answer is' look. After a minute he made a derisive noise and turned around to leave. He and Izzy made for the edge of the roof, and Jace stayed where he was, looking down at Clary who was staring up at him like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Jace didn't know what the hell that was about either, but if everyone could stop acting so fucking weird, that'd be great.

They got home to the Institute, and Jace couldn't remember which room he was supposed to be staying in. He didn't think he'd hit his head earlier, but something must have happened for him to be this messed up. He was pretty sure the one that wasn't his was Alec's, so there was no harm done if he picked the wrong one. He was tired and not in the mood to talk to Alec about anything, but most especially the bullshit fights they'd been having recently. He pulled off his shoes and changed into sleep clothes, and hoped that he would be asleep before any conversations could happen.

Luck wasn't on his side apparently, because Alec walked in and locked the door behind him. He saw Jace ready for bed, and his mood got better. It wasn't so obvious that anyone else would have noticed, but it was clear to Jace that he was happy to see him there. "Hey," Alec said tentatively. Jace got the impression that if he said he just wanted to go to sleep, Alec would listen. But if he was as open as he seemed, there was no reason for Jace to shut him out unnecessarily.

"Hey."

Alec walked around the room and grabbed clothes to sleep in, changing without a single care that Jace was right there. It's not like he was getting naked and they'd seen each other that way plenty of times, but still it was a little weird. "Listen uh," Alec cleared his throat, "I'm sorry about earlier. I know I haven't been... as careful about us as I should have been since she showed up. I guess I just need to know how much of your anger is for show and how much is real."

Jace blinked at him in confusion. So much about that did not make any sense, and he didn't know where to start. "Let's not talk about this right now," he said, but Alec made a pained expression that might mean he wasn't going to let it go the way Jace was hoping he would. Which would be a damn shame because he would appreciate some extra time to try and figure out what was happening.

"You don't want to talk about it," Alec repeated in a carefully even tone, waiting for Jace to either confirm or deny it.

"No."

Alec sighed, hand coming up to rub at the space between his eyes. "But you're here," he said in a low voice, and it sounded like he was pleading. Pleading for what, Jace didn't know, so he said nothing. "Fine. Let's just- let's just go to sleep."

Alec turned off the lights and they both got under the covers. It should have been strange-- Jace's mind was telling him that it was strange-- but it felt so normal and comfortable that he decided it was a problem to think about later.

When he woke up, it was to the sensation of extreme comfort, warmth, and safety even though it was a nightmare that had woken him up. His mind brought a little more awareness to him, and he realized that Alec was spooning him. At some point during the couple hours of sleep he'd caught, they'd curled together, and while Jace could remember sharing a bed with Alec on occasion when they were younger, this was on a whole other level and he wasn't exactly a fan. At least his mind wasn't. His body on the other hand was having a ball, doing its absolute best to convince him that he didn't need to move unless it was the apocalypse outside, and even then only if absolutely necessary.

He snuck out of bed and headed next door. If the one he was just in was Alec's, then this one had to be his. He breathed a sigh of relief when he made it out the door without waking his parabatai, and turned on the lights in his own room. There was a punching bag with various arms on it, which was just what he needed to work off the lingering feelings of the nightmare. He couldn't remember what it was about anymore, but it was crawling under his skin like an anthill abuzz with life, and he wanted it gone.

He stripped out of his shirt and started, but he didn't get very far before someone was barging in. He didn't have a chance to be annoyed because it was only Clary and she started talking immediately. She mentioned that Magnus Bane could retrieve her memories, and something in Jace perked up. With his own memory in the fucked up state that it currently was, he could probably ask for a little help amidst Clary's issues with no one the wiser. Except Magnus of course, but he wouldn't care.

He ignored Alec as much as he could, hoping that by the time he was forced to have a conversation with him, his memory would be back to normal. Alec was grumpy and moody about that, but what else was new? Izzy made a joke about Alec needing to get laid, and Jace was glad that Hodge said something because otherwise he would have, and he's not sure he wants to know what exactly he would have said.

Alec accused Clary of not knowing what she was doing, but honestly? Jace felt like the biggest liability right now, and he didn't know how to admit that. People who weren't useful were as good as trash, so he kept his mouth shut and avoided saying anything that might hit on the holes and dips in his memory.

* * *

"Hm?" Magnus said, looking up from the jewel. "Oh, your memories. Well I'd love to give them to you, but I fed them to a memory demon so Valentine wouldn't be able to find them. I'm afraid they are the definition of inaccessible at the moment." His eyes flickered to Jace. "Your's, on the other hand, are simply buried. Beneath a..." his hand sparked blue for an instant before going back to normal "shoddily put together love spell it looks like, though only the warlock who put it on you knows why they'd even bother. Already it is starting to crumble."

"A love spell?" Jace asked, frowning. "For who?"

"I'm good, but even I can't tell you the intricacies of a spell from a distance."

"Then get a little closer and tell me."

Magnus huffed but stepped forward. "I suppose since the payment you originally wanted is off the table I can offer this." He waved his hand in front of Jace's face, a cloud of glittering blue trailing through his fingers. "Hm, interesting."

"What? What's interesting?" Clary asked, looking between Magnus's hand and Jace's face with concern.

"It appears someone put a spell on you, Clarissa Fairchild, so that the first Shadowhunter you asked for help would give it to you, no questions asked. My guess would be Dot. A last ditch safety effort in case everything else went wrong in her safety procedures." He sighed, dropping his hand back down. "Mind magic never was her strength, but at least it's reversible."

"Then reverse it," Clary said while Jace shook off the feeling of someone poking his mind.

"A procedure such as that is... delicate," he said. "Normally it's the sort of thing he'd like some privacy for."

"But you can do it," Jace said, and Magnus inclined his head.

"Of course I could. But keep in mind that while this would already be paid for," he held up the hand that was carrying the necklace, "retrieving Clarissa's memories from the memory demon would not be."

Clary looked at Jace for a moment, then made the decision for all of them. "Do it."

"Clary-" Jace tried to protest, but she made a noise of exasperation.

" _Jace_. He already said my memories are as good as gone, and there's no reason for you to walk around without yours. We came to this exchange, we might as well get something out of it." She turned back to Magnus. "Remove the spell from him, and you can consider the necklace yours again."

Magnus raised an eyebrow at Jace, waiting for him to confirm.

"Fine, do it."

"Close your eyes and try to keep your mind blank. Clarissa, you might want to hold him up, losing a spell can be a bit of a shock to your system."

Clary dutifully wrapped her hand around Jace's upper arm and stepped into his space so that if he wobbled she'd be able to help keep him on his feet.

Magnus put the necklace in his pocket and used both hands. To Clary, it looked like he was manipulating a holographic projection that only he could see. It only took a minute, and by the end of it, Jace was leaning heavily into her. "There, it's done."

"Thank you," she told him sincerely, but he waved her off.

"It was nothing. See if you can't get him to eat something soon, he'll need it."

"I will. Thank you."

Jace got his feet under him quickly after that, but then he paled so drastically he could have been a ghost.

"Jace? Jace, what is it, what's wrong?"

"Oh god," he breathed. He straightened suddenly, looking around. "Where's Alec? I need to- _fuck,_ I have to talk to him, where--"

"Jace, calm down," she said trying to grab him with her other hand to keep him in place. As frantic as he was, it wasn't a smart idea to let him walk around at a Downworlder party with things being what they were. She expected for Jace to listen to him because he'd never not done so, which meant she was surprised when he he threw her off and left.

He stopped a couple feet away, turning back to point at her. "Stay with Magnus, he'll keep you safe." It was easy to find Alec, not because he hadn't blended in, but because Jace _knew_ him, knew where he'd be keeping watch in the room. Izzy was standing next to him, flirting shamelessly with a buff werewolf that was nearly twice her size. "Izzy, give us a second," he said as he pulled Alec to the side, and she waved her hand to show that she'd heard him. Jace licked his lips nervously. This wasn't the kind of conversation he wanted to have anywhere other than the privacy of their room, but he didn't want to put this off because the fact that Alec hadn't already dumped him was something of a miracle. "Listen, I'm sorry. About." He tilted his head in the direction he'd come from where Clary was standing. "All that."

It was too little too late though, and Alec was still surveying the crowd for threats instead of looking at Jace. "Priorities change, don't worry about it."

" _No_ ," Jace said vehemently. "That's not what this is, it was some bullshit spell Clary's warlock friend cast. I was acting like a dickwad, and I'm sorry, but nothing's changed for me, I swear to you."

Alec looked at him, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "A spell?"

"Yes. Look if you don't believe me, go ask Magnus. He's the one that got rid of it, he can tell you."

Alec took a deep breath, looking around them. "This is not the time or the place. We can talk about it later."

* * *

To be honest, Alec had thought that maybe Jace was lying. When all the shit with the not-mundane and then her friend the mundane-who-never-shut-up started and Jace looked interested in her, Alec figured that it had finally happened, that Jace had realized that he had options and he didn't want him anymore. It wouldn't have killed him to come out and say that he was breaking up with Alec, in fact it would have been better than letting Alec get all possessive and jealous.

So when Jace did another one-eighty, Alec figured that was because the not-mundane was dating the actual-mundane and he didn't want to lose the man in his back pocket. And to bring it up while they were at a Downworlder rave? He didn't know what to think, and thinking about it made him more nervous about what was going to happen so he stopped and focused on the mission at hand. Magnus did confirm what Jace said before they parted ways for time being, and... by the angel he didn't know what to do about that.

They made it back to the Institute and Jace wasted no time in dragging Alec to their room as if Jace hadn't snuck out in the middle of the night this morning. He pulled Alec inside, closed the door, then fisted his hands in Alec's shirt and jerked him closer, kissing him fiercely.

"What are you doing?" Alec asked.

"Kissing my boyfriend. If that's- still what you want to be."

"Of course it is, Jace but-" Alec groaned, pushing himself away from Jace and stepping away. "You ignore me for three days straight, treat me like shit, and now you just expect everything to be okay?"

"It was a spell," he said desperately. "I would never treat you that way, you have to know that. You're my parabatai, the other half of my soul."

"And what does that mean to you?"

Jace stared at him incredulously. "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Alec is was a spell, I don't feel that way about you, and I would never lust after someone I barely know right in front of you."

"Wouldn't you? I mean," Alec swallowed, "we never established what we're doing here, we just started sleeping together. This is against the Law, Jace. If anyone finds out we'll be de-Runed and kicked out of the Shadow world. I don't know how to live as a mundane, do you?"

"No one's going to find out."

"And if they do? This isn't like Izzy's flirtation with Meliorn. It's an information exchange, and even if the Clave frowns on her methods she's not trying to marry him. These are high stakes, and if you're not willing to lose what's on the table then we should end it right now."

"I would die for you, Alec."

"Shadowhunters die all the time; dying's easy. We don't get the luxury of dating casually until we find out that we're serious. We're either in this for life or we aren't, and if we aren't, this ends now."

Alec didn't say the words, didn't even really hint at it, but he was putting the choice in Jace's hands which meant that he already knew what his decision was. And if his decision was to end it, he would have said so. "I love you. And I'm willing to deal with the consequences of that, even if it means we lose everything. As long as we don't lose each other in the process."

Alec sighed, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around Jace. "You're so dramatic."

"You drove me to it," he mumbled, hugging him back. "I'm really fucking sorry about the way I was acting."

"It wasn't you, it's okay. Just do me a favor and don't get a spell like that cast on you again."

"I'll do my best."

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't intended to be Clary bashing, so I'm v v sorry if it came off that way.


End file.
